This Easy Hack Solves The Most Annoying Part of Painting

Regardless of what size room or piece of furniture you’re taking on, a paint project rarely lasts a single day. You’re almost always stopping and starting mid-project, whether that’s to run to the hardware store, catch up with friends, or let your project dry between coats. The most annoying part of the whole thing? Having to constantly clean off your tools. 

Needless to say, any shortcut that speeds up the painting process — and requires less cleanup work on your end — is a useful thing to consider. There are plenty of paint hacks out there that are lauded as the key to a more seamless DIY, including one of our recent favorites, the elastic band method — but there just as many that aren’t worth your time and effort.

To help you weed through the options and determine which “hacks” are actually useful, Apartment Therapy put several to the test with help from DIYer Ashley Poskin, known for her bold home (see: colorful paint projects and whimsical lamp upcycles).

Stopping in the middle of a paint project isn’t usually such a big deal — that is until it comes time to clean your brush so it doesn’t get crusty in the meantime. Washing is a pain, then you’ll also need to wait for it to dry properly before using it again (or invest in a second brush for backup purposes). Simply put, having a way to press pause on your project can be an invaluable hack.

Some pros suggest wrapping your brush in a plastic bag or plastic wrap to keep the paint moist while you wait, effectively allowing you to pick right back up where you left off instead of worrying about constantly washing and drying your brush with every pause.

“The purpose of doing this is to keep the brush from drying out,” explains Poskin, who frequently uses the trick during DIY projects around her home. “I’ve tried this process both in and out of the refrigerator, and both seem to work just fine over a short period of time. If you’re storing the brush overnight, it doesn’t necessarily have to go in the refrigerator; just find a cool place that’s out of the sun. If you can’t get back to your project for a few days, you’ll want to stick it in the fridge.” 

Good news: This is one paint hack worth keeping around. The plastic bag forms a layer over the paint, allowing you to keep your brush moist until you’re ready to use it again. “One mistake I’ve always made was wiping excess paint off the brush before storing it, but you do not want to do this,” adds Poskin. “Dip your brush in a good amount of paint and then transfer it right to the plastic bag, wrapping the excess bag around the brush so the paint won’t spread out. All the excess paint will act as a protective barrier and keep the brush from drying out quickly.” 

Whether you store your brush in the refrigerator for long-term projects or just on the counter overnight, there’s virtually no prep work involved before using it again — you can simply unpackage and go. “Be sure to seal up the bag that you’ve stored it in so the paint won’t dry and glob onto the brush if you need to store it overnight again,” adds Poskin.